League Announcements

Good morning Soccer Parents,

Fall Season Cancellation
To protect the health and safety of our players, parents, and patrons, the SWM Rec Board has voted unanimously to cancel its 2020 Fall Season. More information around the Board’s decision is included below.

Parents have the option to leave a credit on their player’s account for next season or receive a full refund. See below for more information.

Credits and Refunds
For parents who have already paid their child’s registration fees, you may choose between two options to make use of those funds:  

1. Keep the payment on your player’s account.
We will apply the balance toward future registration costs. If your child was maintaining credit from the spring season, the credit will remain on their account indefinitely.  

Action needed for credit: No action required. 

2. You may request a full refund.
The refund will be processed back to the credit or debit card you initially used to pay your child’s registration fees. Once processed, our Treasurer will send you a confirmation e-mail. Refunds may take up to 10 business days to post back to your account. 

Action needed for a refund: If you would like a refund, you must reply to this e-mail to claim it. 

Reasons for Cancellation
Here are the prevailing reasons our Board opted to cancel this season:

The Michigan State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA), in accordance with the MI Safe Start Plan introduced by Governor Whitmer, has not yet announced that soccer can return to gameplay. We do not know when or if a return to gameplay will be announced. Our Board did not feel it appropriate to delay the season and string parents along if there was no guarantee of gameplay this Fall.

If MSYSA allowed a return to gameplay, there would almost certainly be new guidelines required of our league and its participants. We cannot accurately predict what the guidelines will be, or if our league could adequately implement or enforce new guidelines in short fashion. Rather than potentially risk the health and safety of the participants, our Board opted to cancel the season. 

Moving forward
Our league intends to play again in spring. Our ability to hold a season will depend on the environment at that time. Please join us in tightly crossing our fingers. 

We are all looking forward to a return to normalcy and hope it occurs sooner than later. We also hope that you and your loved ones remain happy, healthy, and safe.

Please e-mail board@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com if you have any questions.

This year has kept everyone on their toes. We hope everyone is adapting well to “the new normal” and maintaining health. We’ve missed seeing you on the soccer fields.

Please read the entirety of the e-mail below, as it contains several important updates about the upcoming fall season.

Fall Season

Like many things, the possibility of a fall season is an ever-evolving situation. The Michigan State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA) has not released guidance regarding a return to gameplay.  We’ll continue to wait patiently. Our league remains optimistic that gameplay will be possible.

As part of our optimism for the upcoming season, registration is now live. You may register your child click the button below:

The registration window is shorter than usual. Please register your child quickly.

Player Waivers

SWM Kickers and SWM Rec are now requiring a waiver to be signed for children to participate in soccer. The waiver states that parents will hold SWM Kickers or SWM Rec harmless if their child should contract Covid-19, MRSA, influenza, or any other communicable diseases.

You will agree to this waiver electronically, during the registration process.

Registration Note – Credits

If your player was registered and paid for the spring season, and a refund was not requested, your child has a credit on their account. The credit will be applied automatically at the time of registration.

When registering, the last screen you encounter is the payment screen. You may notice the “balance due” for your child is a negative number, which will appear something like this: ($10.00).

If you see this on the payment screen, your player’s credit from spring is enough to cover their registration costs for fall. There is no additional payment needed in this instance.

Important Dates

• 7/3/2020: Registration for Fall 2020 season begins. Registrants automatically receive an Early Bird Discount of $15 during this time.
  
• 7/13/2020: Registrants are no longer eligible for the Early Bird Discount.
  
• 7/27/2020: Late registration period begins. Registrations during this time will include a $25 late fee.
  
• 8/2/2020: Registration ends. Player registrations after this date are subject to case-by-case approval based on roster needs, and a $25 late fee.
  
• Mid-August: Teams formed and uploaded to the website.
  
• End of August: Practices begin, pending guidance from MSYSA.
  
• Early September: Games begin, pending guidance from MSYSA.

Other News

Soccer Parenting

SWM Kickers has enrolled in an online resource called Soccer Parenting, which we are now offering to free to our league parents. Their mission is to inspire players by empowering parents. To accomplish this mission, Soccer Parenting provides an extensive and growing library of articles, videos, and other content to assist parents with their child’s soccer development.

More information is forthcoming on how you can access your account for free. For now, you can get an overview of Soccer Parenting at their website, https://www.soccerparenting.com/.  

Volunteers needed

As always, SWM Rec’s volunteer Board would benefit from having more folks to handle the workload. Please e-mail board@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com if you are interested in supporting the operations of our soccer league.

Concession stand

Due to health concerns surrounding coronavirus and a lack of bandwidth amongst our volunteer Board, it is not likely that the concession stand will be open for the Fall 2020 season.

Chicago Fire Camp

SWM Rec has traditionally partnered with the Chicago Fire, our most local Major League Soccer team, to offer a summer soccer camp. We intended to provide the camp again this year, with revamped camp offerings for players in SWM Rec and SWM Kickers players. Unfortunately, the vendor canceled their summer camps due to Covid-19. Our league hopes to continue the camp tradition in 2021.

Questions

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via e-mail at board@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com.   

Have a happy and safe holiday. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Good afternoon Parents,

Today, in a continuing response to coronavirus / Covid-19, Michigan Governor Whitmer announced that K – 12 schools would remain closed for the academic school year. The Governor has also proposed an extension of Michigan’s state of emergency declaration. 

Spring Season Cancellation

To protect the health and safety of our players, parents, and patrons, SWM Rec has made the difficult choice to cancel its 2020 Spring Season.

Registration Funds

For parents who have already paid their child’s registration fees, you may choose between two options to make use of those funds: 

1. Keep the payment on your player’s account.
We will apply the balance toward future registration costs. 

Action needed: No action required. 

2. You may request a full refund.
The refund will be processed back to the credit or debit card you initially used to pay your child’s registration fees. Once processed, our Treasurer will send you a confirmation e-mail. Refunds may take up to 10 business days to post back to your account.  

Action Needed: If you would like a refund, please e-mail your request to board@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com.

You may also e-mail board@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com with any questions.

Moving forward

Our thoughts are with all of you during this difficult time. We hope that you and your loved ones remain happy, healthy, and safe.

Best Regards,

Joe Daniel
Vice President, SWM Rec

On Friday, 10/24/19, Kalin Construction Company Inc. is beginning construction on an auxiliary parking lot at the Lakeshore Youth Soccer Complex. The new dirt lot will be accessible off of Cleveland Avenue, which will reduce the walking distance to fields farthest away from the existing parking lot.

Construction will be underway through the end of November, which means the new lot will be ready for use by the Spring season of 2020! This project will not negatively impact the remaining games of the Fall 2019 season.

As you have likely heard, there have been three confirmed cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in Southwest Michigan. Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease. Two of the cases were confirmed in Kalamazoo county and one in Berrien County, with others currently being investigated.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reports, “Mosquito-borne diseases can cause long-term health effects in people and even death. These cases, along with confirmed cases in horses and deer in the state, stress the importance of taking precautions against mosquito bites. 

The Berrien County Health Department (BCHD) does not currently recommend that schools or clubs cancel evening events, like practices or games. A copy of the press release from BCHD is available on SWM Rec’s website at this link. 

The safety of players, parents, and other attendees at the Lakeshore Youth Soccer Complex is the utmost priority for our organization. Like the Lakeshore School District and SWM Kickers, SWM Rec will continue to follow the recommendations of the Berrien County Health Department.

Precautionary Measures

SWM Rec is implementing the following precautionary measures to ensure the safety of players, parents, and attendees at the Lakeshore Youth Soccer Complex. Parents are also encouraged to follow these measures, when possible:
 

• Mosquitos are most active around dusk. Games that occur at or after sunset have been rescheduled for earlier playing times. Please note: SWM Rec has reached out to other soccer clubs and encouraged them to follow the same actions. If your child has an away game against another club, SWM Rec is not responsible for that club’s scheduling of the game. 
   
• Coaches are strongly encouraged to end all practices by 7 PM.
   
• All coaches should be on the lookout for any standing water on the fields. Coaches are instructed to cancel soccer activities if there is nearby standing water.
   
• When outdoors, apply insect repellents that contain the active ingredient DEET, or other EPA-registered product to exposed skin or clothing, and always follow the manufacturer’s directions for use. All attendees to the Rockey Weed Fields are advised to acquire insect repellent for personal use. We encourage all attendees to apply repellent, but it will not be mandated.
   
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors. 
   
• SWM Rec is discussing additional preventative measures with SWM Kickers and Lincoln Charter Township.  

If the Berrien County Health Department changes its recommendation regarding Eastern Equine Encephalitis, SWM Rec will react accordingly and provide additional updates via e-mail. 

The Fall season is officially underway!

Uniforms have been distributed, Picture Day has passed, and both practices and games have begun. We hope parents and players have a wonderful Fall season! 

Below are a few important notes to keep in mind for this season:
 

• League Weather Policy: Coaches can choose to cancel games at their discretion, on account of active weather. If a Coach chooses to cancel a game due to weather, the Coach is expected to communicate this information to their team and is also responsible for rescheduling the game. Generally, your child can expect to play unless there is lightning in the area.
  
  The league may close the soccer complex if severe weather is anticipated. If this happens, a league-wide e-mail will be sent to all parents.
  
  As it gets colder: Players can layer up beneath their jerseys, but should not cover their jersey if at all possible. 
   
• Snacks: Most coaches create a schedule for parents to bring after games. Please be mindful of allergies as snacks are being provided. 
   
• Practices must be scheduled through the SWM LYSL website, to ensure field availability and prevent scheduling conflicts.
   

If you have any questions or concerns throughout the season, please e-mail  board@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com. 

Effective Fall of 2019, Southwest Michigan Soccer Club (SWM) is adding Lakeshore Youth Soccer as its Recreational Soccer program. SWM now provides opportunities for youth players of all ages and skill levels with Competitive, Recreational, and TOPSoccer programs.